Hours after he joins BJP, UP politician raided

Hours after he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, ousted Bahujan Samaj Party minister and former Mayawati confidante Babu Singh Kushwaha was raided by the Central Bureau of Investigation early on Wednesday morning.

CBI teams conducted simultaneous raids at about 45 locations, allegedly owned by Kushwaha or his associates, in a dozen districts in Uttar Pradesh in pursuance of its investigation into the multi-million rupee National Rural Health Mission scam.

Expelled from the BSP some months ago, Kushwaha joined the BJP on Tuesday afternoon, in a controversial move.

According to CBI sources, several homes and commercial establishments owned by Kushwaha and his associates, including Ram Chandra Pradhan, a member of the UP legislative council, were raised by CBI teams in Lucknow, Kanpur, Moradabad, Ghaziabad and Agra.

The home and offices of the owners of a new Hindi daily newspaper, Jan Sandesh, were also raided by the CBI.

The Lucknow-based newspaper is alleged to have received funding from Kushwaha and Pradhan. The newspaper's office is located in Lucknow's prime commercial hub, Hazratganj.

Sources said Kushwaha's properties in Mumbai are also a CBI target.

The CBI is also investigating the murder of three chief medical officers, closely linked with the NRHM in UP.